Was macht ein Musiker, wenn er im Moment überhaupt keine Idee für neue Songs hat oder einfach mal „was Neues“ probieren möchte? Eine kreative Pause einlegen? Jamsessions mit anderen Musikern machen?
Weit gefehlt.
Er covert einen anderen Song. Manchmal versucht er sich an eigenen nochmal, manchmal an denen von andern Musikern. Und leider kommt da zu 90 % nichts Gutes heraus. Manchmal aber sind Coversongs sogar richtig gut. Und hin und wieder sind sie sogar besser, als das Original. Aber leider nur in den aller seltensten Fällen.

A Perfect Circle beispielsweise hat mit der CD eMOTIVe ein ganzes Album mit Coversongs (mit Ausnahme von zwei Songs) veröffentlicht – und die sind wirklich geglückt. Besonders John Lennon’s Imagine sticht durch eine fast völlig neue Interpretation heraus.

Und nein, Hurt ist nicht von Johnny Cash. In Wirklichkeit stammt der Song aus der Feder von Trent Reznor, Mastermind von den Nine Inch Nails. Aber ehrlich gesagt ist das Original nicht halb so gut wie die Johnny Cash-Version. Hier das Original, zum Vergleichen. Würd gern mal eure Meinung dazu hören!

Auch Number of the Beast wurde schon mal gecovert. Der Iron Maiden-Klassiker wurde von Zwan total neu und sehr soft interpretiert und ist am Soundtrack zum Film Spun zu finden. Und für alle, die es nicht kennen auch hier das Original als Vergleich.

Zum Schmunzeln, aber doch einfach genial ist My Way (natürlich von Frank Sinatra) gecovert von Sid Vicious.

Eine Liste, der besten Coversongs aller Zeiten (der ich im Großen und Ganzen ziemlich zustimme) findet man hier.

Aber leider sind diese Songs nur die Ausnahme. In der Regel schauen Coversongs wie folgt aus. Ich bring nur einige Beispiele, denn ich bin mir absolut sicher, jeder von uns kennt genug dieser Negativbeispiele…

Britney Spears – I love Rock ‘N Roll

Sheryl Crow – Sweet Child ‘O Mine

Hilary Duff – My Generation

…und das sind nur einige Beispiele. Mein Fazit: FAIL!

Und nun noch das Kalendarium zum heutigen 24. November 2009:
(Kleine Notiz am Rande: In einem Monat ist Weihnachten)

Heute vor 8 Jahren verstarb der Musiker Eric Carr, der den ersten KISS-Schlagzeuger Peter Criss 1980 ersetzte.
Ja, heute ist kein glücklicher Tag für den Rock. Am 24. 11., auch vor 8 Jahren erlag Freddy Mercury in London seiner AIDS-Erkrankung.

Doch wie schon einmal an dieser Stelle erwähnt, liegen Leben und Tod knapp beieinander. Und so…
…wurde heute vor 54 Jahren Clem Burke geboren. Er spielte als Schlagzeuger unter anderem bei Blondie, den Ramones, Iggy Pop und Joan Jett.

Eure Blutsschwester.

Tempo fa, in mezzo a tutto il ciarpame di cui solitamente trabocca la mia casella di posta, scovai una storiella simpatica inviatami da un amico.

In questi giorni mi è tornata in mente, per cui va da se’ che ora ve la ciucciate.

Forse non sarà fedelissima al racconto originale, eh, ma insomma spero che renda uguale.

—

C’ERA UNA VOLTA…

…un ragazzino, non più bambino, ma non ancora adolescente, il quale era parecchio, ma parecchio incazzoso.

Al limite del rognoso, come oggi sono solo quei piccoli cabinotti viziati e arroganti cui tutto è dovuto, che le mamme depositano a scuola/lezione di nuoto dall’alto del loro SUV tra una seduta di acido ialuronico e una palpata dell’istruttore di fitness (sebbene al tempo della storiella non ci fossero ne’ SUV ne’ mamme conciate come teenager ne’ il nuoto).

Questo ragazzino, dicevamo, aveva sempre qualche motivo per essere scontento o litigare con qualcuno, e più litigava più si irritava, e più si irritava più attaccava briga, in un circolo vizioso da cui l’imberbe spaccamaroni pareva destinato a non uscire più.

Il babbo, invece di rivolgersi allo psicanalista di turno o imbottire il figliolo di Rohypnol, lo prese da parte dopo l’ennesima sfuriata, gli mise un martelllo in mano e gli disse:

“Figlio mio. Da questo momento in poi, ogni volta che ti sarai arrabbiato con qualcuno, prenderai un chiodo e lo pianterai nella staccionata di casa!”.

Il primo giorno il pargolo ne conficcò così tanti che il primo palo della recinzione somigliava vagamente ad una pianta grassa.

E così via il secondo giorno, così come il terzo.

Dopo una settimana lo sbarbino intuì che sarebbe stato più arguto evitare di farsi saltare la mosca al naso per ogni quisquilia, invece di crivellare la povera palizzata.

Pertanto, poco per volta, cercò di imparare a dominare la propria irascibilità e, di conseguenza, iniziò a diminuire il numero di chiodi piantati ogni giorno…

Finchè, una bella giornata di sole, mentre gli uccellini cinguettavano e le caprette ti facevano ciao, il ragazzino riuscì a non conficcarne neppure uno!

Quando, tutto orgoglioso, tornò dal babbo, si sentì dire:

“Complimenti, figlio mio, sono fiero di te! Ma il tuo lavoro non è ancora finito…”

(Lo sapevo che il vecchio mi avrebbe fregato, pensò. Ma non disse nulla, per non tradirsi.)

“Ora -continuò il padre-, per ogni volta che ti sarai scusato per le tue azioni ed avrai avuto una buona parola per qualcuno, sarai autorizzato a togliere uno e un solo chiodo dalla recinzione”.

Il ragazzino si armò di pazienza e buoni propositi e passarono giorni, per non dire settimane, per non dire mesi…

Finchè un bel dì, uno di quelli con il sole e gli uccellini cinguettanti e le caprette educate (vedi sopra), si rese conto di averli finalmente rimossi tutti!

Il padre, volendo verificare di persona, si recò assieme a lui presso lo steccato, che pareva un muro di Belgrado dopo la guerra civile, e disse:

“Ragazzo mio, sono davvero contento per te.

Ora, però, osserva com’è ridotta la recinzione: vedi tutti quei fori?

Cerca di tener presente che per ciascuno di essi qualcuno ha sofferto, si è angustiato, è rimasto offeso o deluso.

Ed è così che va la vita.

Puoi piantare un chiodo, poi toglierlo…

Così come puoi conficcare un pugnale in un uomo, per poi ritrarlo.

Ma rimarrà comunque una ferita che non si rimarginerà facilmente, se mai guarirà.

E vedi, le parole sono ancor più affilate di qualunque lama.

Non puoi scagliarle e pretendere che tutto torni come prima, una volta pronunciate.

Ma puoi far sì che in futuro nessuno abbia a soffrire per causa loro.”

[Fin]

—

Questa è solo una storiella, peraltro vecchia quanto il mondo (o almeno quanto i chiodi!), ma la volevo regalare a un paio di persone a me care, che credo capiranno il perché.

Vi voglio bene, chicas.

Może nie każdy z was zdaje sobie z tego sprawę, ale autorem tej niezwykłej piosenki jest Trent Reznor z Nine Inch Nails. Kawałek “Hurt” pochodzi z 1994 z drugiego albumu studyjnego zespołu NIN – “The Downward Spiral“. Piosenka stała się bardziej popularna i znana dopiero po nagraniu coveru tego utworu przez ś. p. Johnny’ego Casha.

Osobiście bardziej podoba mi się wersja NIN, chociaż Johnny Cash też ma swój urok.

Nine Inch Nails

Cover by Johnny Cash

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Producer Dextah took the tracks off the groundbreaking

Uzi Scott (Lefty of Bash Bros & Dextah) release

“Small world, Big Noise EP” & remixed all of them with

Nine Inch Nails samples & sounds.

The outcome is crazy! 8 tracks total with instrumentals

www.thebashbros.com

www.myspace.com/theleftemcee

CLICK BELOW FOR MUSIC

http://www.mediafire.com/?ymmo2gu1mo5

          Nine Inch Nails!!!  Vocês conhecem/curtem também?  Esse era o tipo de MÚSICA dos meus DESFILES da época da Faculdade Santa Marcelina!  É béimmmm…  tenho esse lado meio “ROCK” também!! não sou só “meiguiiiinha”   Rsrs…   Eu tocava basicamente Nine Inch Nails, Sepultura e Kiss!! E detalhe, com criações feitas em crochê!! Vou atrás das fotos p/ postar aqui!

       Por hora… *****ENJOY IT*****  http://blip.fm/home.

      Beijossssssssssssssss!!!

          Nine Inch Nails!!!  Vocês conhecem/curtem também?  Esse era o tipo de MÚSICA dos meus DESFILES da época da Faculdade Santa Marcelina!  É béimmmm…  tenho esse lado meio “ROCK” também!! não sou só “meiguiiiinha”   Rsrs…   Eu tocava basicamente Nine Inch Nails, Sepultura e Kiss!! E detalhe, com criações feitas em crochê!! Vou atrás das fotos p/ postar aqui!

       Por hora… *****ENJOY IT*****  http://blip.fm/home.

      Beijossssssssssssssss!!!

WHAT IS MYSTERIOUS EXACTLY?! WHY DO SO MANY DIFFERENT WEBSITES OR NEWSPAPER ARTICLES DESCRIBE THE SOLO ARTIST AS “IN HIS OWN LITTLE WORLD,” “OUT THERE IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE” & MANY MORE SHADOW-LIKE DESCRIPTIONS THAT CREATE THE “MYTH OF THE MYSTERIOUS ARTIST WHO MAKES UNIQUE & COMPLEX NOiSE” – I HAPPEN TO LOVE THIS MUSIC BECAUSE I HAVE GROWN TIRED OF ALL THE “INDIE,” “HIPSTER” & “UNDERGROUND” BANDS THAT SOUND THE SAME AND MAKE AT LEAST TRES TRACKS WELL OVER 5 MINUTES LONG THAT THE MAIN MUSIC SITES BUST A NUT OVER EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOTHING EVEN CLOSE TO SPECIAL. FOR THEM TO LOVE RADIOHEAD IS A-OK BECAUSE THAT BAND CREATES MUSIC NOONE CAN TOUCH. THEIR B-SIDES THAT WEREN’T EVEN RELEASED BY THE BAND (8 TRACKS FROM IN RAINBOWS) USUALLY COMPARE SIDE BY SIDE AND SOMETIMES EVEN MURDER CERTAIN TRACKS OFF THE ACTUAL ALBUM. ANY OTHER BAND WOULD MAKE AS MUCH MONEY POSSIBLE OFF OF SONGS THAT WEREN’T ON THEIR #1 SELLING CD ACROSS THE WHOLE GLOBE (ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS AFTER THEY SOLD MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CD’S FOR A PAY WHAT YOU WANT SCHEME 3.42 MONTHS EARLIER, WHICH ALSO LED TO BIG TIME ARTISTS SUCH AS JAY-Z & TRENT REZNOR TO FOLLOW SUIT) ~

SO, HE DREAMS AWAKE IS BASICALLY WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL HIM, BUT I HAVE FOUND 48 SONGS OF HIS AROUND THE INTERNET AND I LOVE ALL OF THEM IN THEIR OWN SPECIAL WAY.. CLOSE TO 50 SONGS RECORDED AND EVEN THOUGH HE DECLINES INTERVIEWS AND ALL THAT, I HEARD A PHONE INTERVIEW HE DID WITH AN INDIE WEBSITE/BLOG AND HE SAID THAT HE ISN’T TRULY HAPPY WITH ANYTHING HE HAS MADE UP TO THIS DATE AND THAT HIS DEBUT ALBUM WHICH IS HALFWAY COMPLETED IS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF THE SONGS PEOPLE CAN FIND RIGHT NOW. HE PLAYS BY HIS OWN RULES, MAKES SONGS IN THEIR OWN FORMULAS/KEYS/SCALES/FORMATS/ETC. & I WILL PROCLAIM HIM THE NEXT RADIOHEAD FROM ONLY HEARING THE 48 SONGS HE MADE ON HIS OWN.. IMAGINE IF NIGEL GODRICH PRODUCED HIS FIRST CD!! JEEZ LOUISE!! I JUST WANTED THIS IN PRINT. I LOVE YOU HDAWAKE! I LOVE YOU EVEN MORE RADIOHEAD!!

Peter knows which way to go. And not only because his spaceship knows.

On his personal, newly established, music label Huvolla Peter Murphy has been releasing some Secret Covers, named after his latest concert tour. It started with the John Lennon classic Instant Karma, that was also used in a (JP Morgan) commercial.

Then came David Bowie’s Space Oddity. Peter added his special oriental feel; the one in which his CD Dust was already… covered. The distinct electric violin of Hugh Marsh re-appearing after Dust and Peter’s -incredible- live album Alive (Just For Love).

Next, Peter released the live and cracklin recording (with his band) of Joy Division’s Transmission, performed at the Highline Ballroom (NYC) in July 2009. I remember Bauhaus playing “Isolation” live during their last tour (ever), with Peter already copying some of Ian Curtis’ typical gestures.

Both as solo artist as with Bauhaus, Peter has performed on a number of occasions with Nine Inch Nails. He performed Hurt with Trent Reznor at a radio (FM live) session. I downloaded that one for free. Peter now released it as secret cover #4. And I bought it. Being a collector-fan and to support Peter.

Peter Murphy is a remarkable voice in today’s musical landscape, a position he rightfully gained by being an expressive, committed and original artist. Not because he’s god. Because there is no god.    But god.

The Unknownn are a mysterious rock-tinged trip-hop group from ‘the depths of the English countryside’. The project was born in early 2003 from a mutual love of all things dark. Rather than focusing on bios and the people in the group, they would rather the focus be purely on the music they produce. It seems that there is not a fixed group either, as they have said that they “use [their] talented friends to full effect, from violinists and viola players to local guitar legends… opening up different avenues musically.”

The music is best described on their Last.FM as ‘hauntingly beautiful and seductively dark’, the type of music to listen to late at night. The vocalist has a gorgeous ethereal voice and the music is kind of like Portishead meets Nine Inch Nails. They released their debut album in October 2005 and since then they have released many remixes and songs online. Up until last month all of their songs were available for free download on their MySpace and Reverbnation but they are slowly removing them. If you hurry, there might be some free downloads left for the taking!

Official Site | MySpace | ReverbNation

The best album cover ever?

Last night on VH1 Europe they did a countdown of the top 25 albums of all time.  Prince made no. 3, and, inevitably, I guess, Thriller made no. 1.  But REM’s automatic for the people made no. 2.  What I found very weird about this, is that people since about the mid 90s have been intentionally forgetting that, between the period 1977-1995, ‘mainstream’ rock, or ‘establishment’ rock, was cosidered by the listening public to be entirely different from ‘alternative’ rock.  At least, that was the case in the US.  In britain, they always seemed to blur the line more, and ‘alternative’ acts often scored top 10 hits, which in the US happened much more infrequently.  But there was still a clear idea that alternative was alternative, and mainstream was mainstream.  And today, people realize this when shopping for music on Amazon:  i.e., “the killers” and DCFC are known to be ‘alternative,’ with ‘emo’ in the latter’s case being a subgenre of alternative:  and everyone has always known that Prince belongs in an entirely different category (of its own–file under ‘weird.’) 

So why are people conflating alternative and ‘pop’ music, to the point where I often hear people lump together alternative with ‘pop,’ so as to distinguish it from ‘R&B’ and ’Dance?’  To do so, I argue, is to entirely miss the point of the ‘altnertive’ movement.  In its heyday, every single person who listened to alternative was aware that it was ‘counter-cultural.’  In essence, alternative contiued the 1960s and 70s trend, which was anti-establishment, and went along with, in some form or another, the popular marxism of the day, which was highly suspicious of corporations, and thus, the record industry.  This of course, presupposes that its listeners have the mental apparatus to appreciate social complexity–to understand society as a system, and/or who are concerned to be articulate about their interation with the world.  Pop music proper, is therefore ‘for the masses,’, i.e., for the majority of people, who, unfortunately, do not have either the will or the IQ power to grapple with complex responses to their environment.  That’s why pop music, e.g. Elvis and Michael Jackson, is generally lyrically incredibly banal.  Both the 60s protest stuff, and, punk, and alternative, and now, things like emo, are thus distinguished by their more sophisticated lyrics.  So, what we are talking about here, then, is music for those who are fortunate enough to have the apparatus and desire to engage with lyrics.  Unfortunately, after 1995, lyrics went out of style (see below) and the entire culture’s level of articulateness, I would argue, has suffered since then.   

By the time that alternative came of age, however, I would argue that it had become much more personal.  While the 60s and 70s Woodstock stuff was decidedly public music – to be performed live, e.g., the doors–and often had impersonal lyrics (e.g. Bob Marley– cryin’ lion zion…. what the hey is that all about?), by the 80s, the goth movement brought music into the bedroom, i.e., into the personal minds of the listener.  Morrissey of course puts it best:  ’When I lay in awe on my bedroom floor,” etc. 

Many people put punk together with alternative, but I see a divergence from the beginning.  Groups like Joy Division and the Cure and Souxsie were always much more cerebral, sensitive, and appealed more to the introspective person, rather than punk, which was often so absurd as to be a simple testosterone fest, despite it’s often radical-marxist lyrics.  In short, I think that punk sucks, becasue though it was perhaps good that someone was doing it, i.e., being socially aware in their music, I believe that their methods, which were essentially violent and anarchist, are inherently self-defeating.  Thus I have never been drawn to it. 

Alternative, on the other hand, foregrounded the individal emotional and (crucially) intellectual response to the world, and thus, can be seen as a re-visioning of the eighteenth-century Cult of Sensibility, which was spearheaded by Goethe, and was then brought to fruition by authors such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Jane Austen, and Keats, who, for the first time in history, asserted that the experience of the individual (particularly of the sensitive individual) truly mattered.  The artist figure, the thinker, the solitary philosopher, was worth listening to, they argued, and this could be anyone–not simply the great.  This encouraged reading and thinking and sensitive people everywhere to stop being deferent to their social superiors, and to really take their own inner dialogue seriously.  This is arguably a very crucial step on the way towards mass democracy. 

And this is why I’m interested in alternative music, from the point of view of this site.  I belive that the 1970s and 80s saw a massive increase in the sensibilities of young thinking people–they grew up in households with more money, for one, and they had more opportunities to travel and to interact with other cultures than ever before.  And they had leisure, and many of them, in Britain and the US, studied the arts, even just in high school, this was done seriously, with an emphasis on text, on poetry and literature, and this encouraged many people once again to take this inner dialogue seriously.  Arguably, the 80s bedroom revolution was quite similar to the romantic revolution which emerged after the french revolution:  a public revolution went bust, and so artist figures, who had been so engaged and so inspired by the public’s prospects, now retreated into their own minds, and continued to hold the ideals of the revolution there, in their own private spheres, until such a time as they might once again find public times propitious for their goals of reform, and remaking. 

This is precisely what the 80s bedroom revolutionaries did, and more.  They saw that the 60s and 70s had failed in many ways to produce anything lasting and concrete, besides a welcome liberalization of society–which should not be underestimated.  But they saw instinctually (I did as a high schooler, and I know my alternative friends did), that the political aims of the hippie revolution were largely unfulfilled, swallowed up by the wave of conservativism brought about by reagan (and thatcher).  And so, we moved inward.  We still had ideals, we still cherished the idea of reform–very much so.  But we also began to realize, through introspecton, that our own selves really truly mattered:  our own emotions, thoughts, etc.  But what made the alternative age different from today, ‘the post alternative age,’ is that today’s emo people, I think, have grown up in an entirely self-serving society, which is almost devoid of the ideal of social reform.  In the 80s, there was still some of that public idealism left.  And it made us idealistic, in the best possible way.  We believed that, by reforming ourselves, we could reform the world, make it better.  (see this website–it’s basically proof that i’m still working in that mode). 

I believe that, after about 1995, these ideals basically died, in a big way, in popular culture, and what we’ve been left with is a culture devoid of public ideals.  It’s therefore all been about the desires of the individual, and thus, is essentially unsophisticated:  it’s all egotism.  Emo people are the intelligent version of the ‘gimme’ school.  But their lyrics are still essentially whining–with no underlying vision.  If you have no social dimension to what you do and think, it’s very difficult for this to be progressive–it is inherently centrifugal, I think.  And then, the less articulate version of this has been the triumph of hip hop, which, for reasons we’ll have to leave for elsewhere, has been almost entirely egotistical and self serving, especially after the few attempts in the 80s to make it political (in which case it was tied to the alternative music ethic– NWA and Public Enemy, e.g., did have much that was political in them–but after about ‘93, any impetus to put the political into music fell away, and hip hop returned to simple braggadocio, and glorification of violence, and domination of women–which, when one loses idealism, is all that’s left).

So, to put a time scale on it: i’d say

1950s:  rock invented, in US and britain.

1960s-early 70s:  protest rock– the first ‘alternative rock.’

1977-present.  Punk.  Angry marxist progressiveness.  Ultimately self-defeating.

1977-1995.  Golden Age of Alternative.  Lyrics were foregrounded, personal experience was foregrounded, but enough idealism remained from the 70s age of popular Marxism, that people genuinely wanted to make the world a better place.

1992- Grunge makes its debut.  Mixes alternative with testosterone rock.  Beginning of the end of alternative music.  After this, sensitive artists begin to avoid lyrics.

mid-1990s.  Age of ‘acid jazz’ ‘house’ – etc.  Club music draws the best and the brighest.  But it is a-lyrical, and so, essentially, the age of social engagement fizzles, quite rapidly.  And with it, idealism.  Idealistic music is no longer fashionable.  The only alternative bands who are still producing major albums are some of what we used to call B-quality bands:  i.e., Radiohead and Bjork.  They sucked compared with the giants of the alternative era, but their manneristic squeaking and shapeless music went well with the new anti-lyrical fashion, and so they became huge.

2000-present.  With internet, a great variety of musical styles, but, it’s still true that, when the lyric comes back into fashion, it is now almost entirely personal.  Political, social, progressive agendas are entirely out, and so the music never rises above the purely juvenile.  Whereas Morrissey and Ian Curtis’ poetry has the power of Wordsworth to engage us, and incite us, to think idealistically, the (admittedly good) lyrics of Death Cab for Cutie, or worse, the banal lyrics of the White Stripes, and the Yeah yeah yeahs, never rise above the purely personal of the high school student’s poetry:

‘yesterday i saw a couple/kissing by the train platform/they were so beautiful/i wondered where they were going.’

Etc.  This is drivel–because it’s purely of personal interest.  It has no idealism, thus, no universalism, and that is the essence of good poetry.

So, my argument, then, is that grunge killed alternative, and after that, we hear people talking of ‘rock being in the shitter’ (trent reznor, 1999–unfortunately his album of that year did nothing to rescue it–the inspiration had died–the age of idealism was largely over).  And until the culture once again recovers idealism, it will continue to stay in the shitter.  Read around on this site, and you’ll see how idealism and moving, real, gripping, engaging art have always been entirely intertwined with one another. 

Thus, all of the following albums, from 1977 to about the grunge era (let’s say 1995–though i do include some grunge), are filled with idealism, even if their lyrics do not explicitly sound that way at all.  And a few albums that come after this time have managed to keep some of that idealism, and so they are included here as well.  Even the industrial music which was a subgenre of alternative in the latter part of this period was not anything like ‘white zombie’ or ’tool’ which came later, and which are genuinely antisocial, antihumanist, and violent–and thus antidemocratic.  I would argue, then, that Skinny Puppy is highly idealistic and progressive, while Maynard what’s-his-name’s “Tool”, which dominated the 90s niche formerly held by bands like Skinny Puppy, replaced it with an entirely anti-idealistic, self-destructive, even psychotic atmosphere, which I argue, still holds the dominant position in our society today (see my post on violence condoning torture for more on this).   Ok, then without further ado (and knowing that we’ll have to discuss these choices at a future time):  here would be my top 25 alternative/industrial albums of all time (and it’s basically ridiculous to put them in order, I think):

Dead Can Dance-  Serpent’s Egg, or Spiritchaser; 10,000 Maniacs – Our Time in Eden; The Cure- The Top; Joy Division- Substance; New Order – Substance; Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk; Depeche Mode – Violator; Pixies – Doolittle; Loreena McKennitt – The Visit; Smashing Pumpkins – Gish; Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes; The Smiths- Louder than Bombs; Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs; The National – The National; REM – Document or Automatic for the People; Skinny Puppy – Mind:  The Perpetual Intercourse; Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas; Sundays – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic; Ministry - Live:  In case you didn’t feel like showing up;  Moby – Play; St. Germain-St. Germain (a-lyrical, but idealistic); Coldplay – Rush of Blood to the Head; Death Cab for Cutie – Plans; Enya – Watermark; Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy; Nine Inch Nails – Downward Spiral or Pretty Hate Machine.  Lisa Gerard – The Mirror Pool.

Ok, that’s 27.  But what most of these have in common, is that they are beautiful, sublime, epic, and/or highly idealistic.  They are not essentially violent (even Ministry-I’d argue), but essentially the opposite–egalitarian, democratic, progressive, empathetic.  They strive for the good, the beautiful, the just.  And so they receive the Platonist’s seal of approval.

 Jeg er veldig glad i coverversjoner som gjøres med en egen vri (må for all del ikke sammenlignes med X-Factor og annen crap). Det jeg elsker med en god cover, er at låten gjøres som om den var bandet/artisten sin egen låt. Høres det bra ut, så høres det bra ut, selv om musikkbildet er forandret. Noen gode eksempler:

Etter å ha hørt orginalen, blekner gjerne kopien noe. Selv om Cash gjorde en utrolig cover av denne låten, så er det fremdeles (bare) en cover i mine ører. Allikevel liker jeg den svært godt.

Den her låta er dedikert (ja vet det heter “dedisert”, men det høres så teit ut) til VxPretty. Det eneste som ikke stemme er delen om “rules”. Der finnes det en god del. Men jaja…. du er  nå ganske så prettyful

Gjerne får en den evige diskusjonen om orginalen eller coveren er den beste versjonen. Døh! En hovedregel er at orginalen er best, selv om det noen ganger kan være åpent. Noe jeg definitivt har lært etter en diskusjon med E-Dogg, så er det at musikk er noe som engasjerer. Smaken er som baken. Men smaken kan heves akkurat som bakdeigen,  samtidig kan også deigen krympe hvis en tramper for hardt foran ovnen. Noen ganger er det greit å være enig om at en er uenig. Vennskapet lenge leve! Selv om det var like før jeg fyrte til deg Det er godt å ha gode venner!

Det er herlig å legge merke til at et band uten skrupler stjeler riff og melodier fra andre. Et av de beste eksemplene jeg vet om er The Levellers Vs. Amorphis. De sistnevnte finnene vinner denne låta så det hyler, selv om de har lånt, stjelt og gjort vokalpartiene om med egen melodi. Moralen er at god musikk kan bli bedre…

             NIN Inch Nails!!!  Vocês conhecem/curtem também?  Esse era o tipo de MÚSICA dos meus DESFILES da época da Faculdade Santa Marcelina!  É béimmmm…  tenho esse lado meio “ROCK” também!! não sou só “meiguiiiinha”   Rsrs…   Eu tocava basicamente Nine Inch Nails, Sepultura e Kiss!! E detalhe, com criações feitas em crochê!! Vou atrás das fotos p/ postar aqui!

Por hora… *****ENJOY IT*****   

http://blip.fm/profile/FabianaMirandaLoveIt/playlist.

Olhem lá! Versão “Come Together” dos Beatles!

Beijossssssssssssssss!!!

Last night we went to see Gary Numan at the very grandly named Millennium Music Hall, which sounds like it should be big, but is in fact a little bar type venue with an 800 capacity.

This was Numan’s 30th Anniversary Tour  of The Pleasure Principle album.  I’ve got to say I wasn’t overly excited about going to see him but hubby was.  He’s got into him through Nine Inch Nails, Numan has appeared on stage with them a few times and Trent Reznor’s a huge fan.  I was more excited when I heard that a guitarist called Chris McCormack was in his live band, he used to be in 3 Colours Red, a band I was a fan of and saw lots of times when I was in school.

Once we got there we didn’t have to wait long for Gary Numan to come on stage, which was just aswell as it was pretty full and very hot.  I couldn’t actually see much of the stage, but there was lots of lighting, smoke machine and 3 big screens across the back of the stage.  For a small venue they’d put a lot of effort in.

The first half of the show was the whole of the Pleasure Principle album played in full and in order.  Here’s a quote from his website www.numan.co.uk

“After a great deal of uncertainty about how to play the Pleasure Principle songs on this tour I have decided to play them as they were originally recorded. The arrangements are the same, the sounds as close as we can get, no guitar, no loops, no industrial versions. Everything has been stripped back to the way it was in 1979. I finally decided that as it’s the 30th Anniversary of the album I should celebrate the album as it was, not a heavy revamped version of it. I hope that meets with the approval of most of you.”

Then he moved on to playing a mixture of his more recent tracks, oldies and B sides.

Here’s a video of him earlier in the year in Sydney performing Are Friends Electric?  You might recognise the music as the Sugababes borrowed it for one of their biggest hits.  There’s also lots of shots of Chris McCormack.

In the end I did enjoy it, even though I didn’t know very much.  It’s a lovely little venue aswell, I nearly always prefer smaller gigs, so we’ll be looking out for anyone else playing there that we’d like to see.

I’ll leave you with him performing Cars with Nine Inch Nails at the O2 Arena in July.

Dal sito francese Digital Music/Don’t Believe The Hype ecco le 10 tappe fondamentali che riassumono la rivoluzione del marketing musicale degli ultimi anni:

1.Myspace

2.CD Baby

3.Arctic Monkeys – Internet buzz

4.OK GO – Youtube

5.Napster

6.Radiohead – In Rainbows

7.Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts

8.Jill Sobule – fanziamento dai fan

9.David Byrne & Brian Eno – Top Spin

10.Amanda Palmer – marketing su Twitter

Johnny Cash est né, Johnny Cash est mort. Après une carrière incroyable que l’on peut comprendre à travers le film oscarisé Walk The Line, Johnny Cash sort en 2002 un album fabuleux nommé American IV: The Man Comes Around. Produit par Rick Rubin, l’album ne contient quasiement que des reprises magistrales comme Personnal Jesus de Depeche Mode ou In My Life des Beatles qui prend un sens tout particulier avec sa voix âgée et son expérience.

La reprise qui m’a tout de suite le plus touchée, c’est Hurt de Nine Inch Nails. L’originale est superbe mais Cash la transforme en une ôde de fin de vie, un requiem folk grandiose. Les paroles très fortes de la chanson sont encore plus poignantes reprise par The Man In Black. Pour illustrer la chanson, Mark Romanek est aux manettes. Romanek est un clippeur célèbre, réalisateur entre autre de vidéos pour : David Bowie (Jump, The Say), Eels (Novacaine for the Soul), Nine Inch Nails (Closer, The Perfect Drug) ou Jay-Z (99 Problems). Un clip qui est d’une rare tristesse et on se sent attaché à Johnny Cash instantanement.

De här har ständigt legat i min spellista de senaste veckorna (eller mer), presenterade i stigande ordning enligt det totala antalet genomlyssningar:

9: This One’s For You med Fläskkvartetten och Robyn (6 lyssningar). Voices of Eden har flera bra gästspel, men den här är min favorit för tillfället.

8: Dschinghis Khan med Dschinghis Khan (8 lyssningar). En schlagerklassiker från -79 som fortfarande är kul. Trots att jag bara förstår något enstaka ord har jag utbyte av de säkert fåniga men fonetiskt lyckade ordvändningarna i texten.

7: 0918.00 med Tarmvred (15 lyssningar). Jag vet inget mer om Tarmvred än att det är någon svensk snubbe, från Göteborg tror jag. (Jag är för lat för att googla just nu.) Egentligen gillar jag IntraventrikulärBrosch bättre (80 lyssningar), men den får vila för tillfället.

6: Getinghonung Pronvencale med Hot Soup (16 lyssningar). Hot Soup vet jag ännu mindre om. Jag köpte deras skiva med Cornelis-tolkningar på måfå och den här är den enda jag fastnat riktigt för, men den är å andra sidan riktigt bra.

5: Fuck You med Lilly Allen (19 lyssningar). Den här hittade jag via Sommar med… någon sportsnubbe tror jag det var. En tennisspelare kanske? Precis som med flera av Nellie McKays låtar gillar jag kontrasten mellan den softa musiken och den riviga texten. Den skulle passa bra till ett bildmontage av Jimmie Åkesson, Göran Hägglund och några andra intoleransmånglare.

4: A Fifth of Beethoven med Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band (31 lyssningar). En perfekt mix av Beethoven och lite skönt sjuttiotalsgung.

3: Jag sitter i dig med Freddie Wadling (65 lyssningar). En av de tre bästa låtarna från Jag är monstret. (De andra är Disko Kebab och titellåten.) Å andra sidan är det bara Bär ut mig, käre Jesus som jag inte tyckte var en bra låt på den skivan.

2: The Hand That Feeds med Nine Inch Nails (121 lyssningar). Riktigt bra rock helt enkelt. Jag kan inte sitta still när jag hör den.

1: Ghost of Love med David Lynch (140 lyssningar). Från filmen Inland Empire. Trots att texten är väldigt repetitiv lyckas David Lynch (som framför den med hjälp av en Vocoder eller liknande) få varje rad att låta intressant.
Strange…
what love does
So strange…
ah what love does
So strange what love does
when you’re all alone

Finns på DuTuben:

That is all for right now…

Mivel még a kezdeti időkben járunk, így még nagyon sok minden furcsa lehet az olvasóimnak velem kapcsolatban. Legalább is az a hányada, aki még nem ismer engem, és nem tudja, hogy milyen egy..hümm…érdekes zenei ízlésem van.

Mondhatni úgy is, hogy iszonyat sok mindent meghallgatok. Az, hogy éppen mivel terrorizálom a hallójárataimat nagyjából függ a hangulatomtól is. Az agresszív ipari zenéktől kezdve, a zsibbasztó drone-on keresztül bármi jöhet, ami megmozgat valamit bennem. Néhány példa:

Nine Inch Nails

Om

És itt volnánk egy másik érdekes zenénél amit mostanában találtam meg a Nine Inch Nails hivatalos honlapján keresztül:
A Nine Inch Nails basszusgitárosa Justin Meldal-Johnsen projectje. Amolyan electronika keverve rock elemekkel, vagy nem is tudom, hirtelen nem tudom bekategorizálni, de talán nem is baj. Tessék élvezni.

Howdy!
I was planning on doing a song of the day on Friday but never got around to it. However I still want to tell you what it was. For me it was “Lovefool” by the Cardigans.

THE CARDIGANS

Here are the lyrics to “Lovefool”
“Dear, I fear we’re facing a problem
You love me no longer, I know
And maybe there is nothing
That I can do to make you do
Mama tells me I shouldn’t bother
That I ought to stick to another man
A man that surely deserves me
But I think you do!

So I cry, I pray and I beg

Love me love me
Say that you love me
Fool me fool me
Go on and fool me
Love me love me
Pretend that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
Love me love me
Say that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
I can’t care ’bout anything but you…

Lately I have desperately pondered,
Spent my nights awake and I wonder
What I could have done in another way
To make you stay
Reason will not lead to solution
I will end up lost in confusion
I don’t care if you really care
As long as you don’t go

So I cry, I pray, and I beg

Love me, love me
Say that you love me
Fool me, fool me
Go on and fool me
Love me, love me
Pretend that you love me
Leave me, leave me
Just say that you need me
So I cry, and I pray for you to
Love me, love me
Say that you love me
Leave me, leave me
Just say that you need me
I can’t care ’bout anything but you…

Anything but you…

Love me, love me (Say that you love me)
Fool me, fool me (Go on and fool me)
Love me, love me (I know that you need me)
I can’t care ’bout anything but you..”

Today I’ve got “the sads” a-la-Lo (if you watch the Hills you’ll understand). The song of the day today is tied between “Milk” by Garbage and “F*** you like an Animal” by Nine Inch Nails.

GARBAGE

Here are the lyrics to Milk- maybe you’ll understand how I’m feeling today….
“I am milk
I am red hot kitchen
And I am cool
Cool as the deep blue ocean

I am lost
So I am cruel
But I’d be love and sweetness
If I had you

I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you
I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you

I am weak
But I am strong
I can use my tears to
Bring you home

I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you
I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you
I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you

I am milk
I am red hot kitchen
And I am cool
Cool as the deep blue ocean

I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you
I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you

I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you
I’m aching
I’m aching for you

I’m waiting
I’m waiting
I’m waiting for you”

If you’re willing “google” the lyrics to the NIN song. I just don’t want to post them because they are not all that appropriate. But today I can relate.

The fever burns as my limbs twist and tangle among the cool sheets, the blankets long kicked aside.  My head presses against the pillow, my nose drawing deep breaths against the fabric while overhead, a fluffy feline stirs and admonishes me with a chatty meow for disturbing her slumber.

I don’t sleep well alone; I take the pills and medicate in other ways, but these lonely nights end with a body flailing against the queen-sized mattress in the dance I have engaged in for a decade. When I am alone, with no prospect of rescue from my padded spring-coil prison, I reluctantly accept this misery.  But when there is the hope of a hand clasping mine as my back is pressed against a firm chest, sleep is a vicious sadist that refuses to grant me my way.

There is so much more than sleep at stake.  The opening of the bed, of the home, is the sheddding of armour, a dismantling of carefully constructed defenses on what is all too often a battlefield.  My scars ache anew on the longer nights, their brands upon my brain the careful reminders of why I sleep with an eye open.  A soldier never forgets.

But you pressed yourself through the chink in the fence, winding your way to my quarters.  You enter without reservation, defiant and determined.  You enter and I submit, allowing you to take control.  You rule me, your touch impossibly smooth, your voice low.  I need more than the comfort of sleep; I need discipline.

Day Sixty-Seven:  Discipline – Nine Inch Nails